What would a "good" Christian do?

draper · Jul 6, 2003

Let's say you're at the store, at a baseball game, walking your dog, anything that is as far away from Religion as possible...

And someone comes up and strikes up a conversatino with you..

And they mention they're of another Religion. Say, Johovah's Witness, or something, maybe a Religion considered a little more obscure by the general public..

Would a 'good' Christian critcise their Religion beliefs and tell them they will go to Hell, etc, or simply change the subject, or what?

By good, I mean immensely dedicated to God.

PuppyforChrist · Jul 6, 2003

Well I wouldn't critizize them, but more or less tell them what I believe in. If they start getting picky, then I'd change the subject.

Mr.Cheese · Jul 6, 2003

I suppose engage them in conversation and show them where you disagree with their theology and why.

SUNSTONE · Jul 7, 2003

Tell them to goto hell!

Just kidding. I would talk to them, if I had time.

kimber1 · Jul 7, 2003

i would try to point out what i beleive and how the scriptures conflict with what they believe. such as (just an example) some religions think that satan is Jesus's brother.

nChrist · Jul 7, 2003

I would politely tell them what I believe and why. I would continue the conversation as long as they wanted to and try to answer any questions they might have. If they showed any interest, I would offer to obtain additional material for them and invite them to church.

Icystwolf · Jul 7, 2003

I usually talk to them, then lead by example.
If they like it, then they'll ask about it...if not, then I'd probably try harder to make it more obvious that I'm leading a better life than they are ....nah kiddin ....I personally would talk to them and bring them to church as well!

starbucksman · Jul 7, 2003

If they profess belief in the God of the Bible and indicate an association with a mainline Protestant denomination, then all would be well and we'd fellowship. If they have alternate beliefs outside the boundaries set out above, then I'd attempt to build a relationship and possibly suggest a later time to get together and talk. No one wants to hit someone over the head with the Bible, rather we want to share our testimony. It is difficult to refute what God has done in a person's life and relating your real experiences is always a good place to start. If the Holy Spirit is drawing the person, then they'll be interested and the conversation could easily lead to sharing the Gospel.

PuppyforChrist · Jul 7, 2003

Yes inviting them to church is a good idea also.

12volt_man · Jun 14, 2004

draper said:
What would a good Christian do?

Don't know. I'm not a good Christian.

Gwyndara · Jun 15, 2004

i would try and talk with them without arguing, once an argument or heated debate starts the holy spirit leaves and it is hard to get anything accross at that point I would just politely leave the situation.

CJ.23 · Jun 15, 2004

Depends on the faith, but I'd talk happily and openly. I had a good chat with a muslim chap from Turkey, who shared with me how his love of God acted in his life. We both enjoyed the conversation, and found we had a lot in common despite massive cultural differences in our upbringings.

cj x

Serapha · Jun 15, 2004

draper said:
And they mention they're of another Religion. Say, Johovah's Witness, or something, maybe a Religion considered a little more obscure by the general public..

<grin>

I love it!

Generally, when they strike up the conversation, I just "suck them in"...

"Really?" is a good response, because it encourages them to present their teachings.

Followed by,

"I studied your religion for a while..."

That even encourages them to get more "fine-tuned" on doctrine.

A hint:

Any time that you are dealing with someone outside mainstream Christianity.... when they ask you to read from the Bible a particular passage... always ask them to read it.

You see, while you are reading from the Bible, they are assembling their argument in their mind, getting ready to focus on something in that passage from the "pat answer index"... from their trained memory, that is.

By having them read the passage, you get the time in your mind to assemble your own thoughts.

Would a 'good' Christian critcise their Religion beliefs and tell them they will go to Hell, etc, or simply change the subject, or what?

No, you ask, "Do you believe the Word of God IS the Word of God" and when they say "yes"... then you say, "well, let's put that you are saying to the test. Let's compare it to what God's Word says".

The point is, you have to find a foundational basis of agreement before you can build any doctrine on that foundation.

~serapha~

Emmy · Jun 15, 2004

If I met some one and he,or she told me they belonged to some different denomination than mine,I would let them know that I belonged to a different denomination.I would then see if the other person wanted to talk about religion,by what comes next in the conversation;one has to be polite and keep up a conversation,or one can find an excuse to go on one`s way.A "good"Christian would never run another person`s religious belief down,neither would a "good"Christian force feed any person with their own belief.To witness for the Lord,must always be done lovingly and without prejudice.Greetings Emmy,a sister in Christ.

theseed · Jun 15, 2004

They would listen so others could speak and speak so others could listen. They would be quick to listen and slow speak (James 1:19).

Chad Merrell · Jun 15, 2004

Good question! I read this and pondered a bit and thien thought how many of us have friends in diff faiths who loves and and would bend over backwards for us? We all regardless of faith are brothers and sisters. I read all these posts and noticed how some were from the start finding what diffs they had. I liked this statement.

The point is, you have to find a foundational basis of agreement before you can build any doctrine on that foundation.
~serapha~

Wether it is religious or not that is a must. If neither of you can agree on stuff then who in there right mind likes getting proved wrong? I know I don't and the thousands I met on my mission didn't either. Any religion who teaches Charity, Faith, Hope and live them should be able to talk hours on topics within those main topics. I always simple make a friend out of it and do so sincerely not trying to convert. If we have diffs we stat our opinion and move on, You didn't see Christ pounding the stuff into the people, he shared it and let it alone.

Faith In God · Jun 15, 2004

No such thing as a good Christian. A Christian is someone who admits that they can never be counted as good without the merits of Jesus.

SumTinWong · Jun 15, 2004

draper said:
And someone comes up and strikes up a conversatino with you..

And they mention they're of another Religion. Say, Johovah's Witness, or something, maybe a Religion considered a little more obscure by the general public..

Would a 'good' Christian critcise their Religion beliefs and tell them they will go to Hell, etc, or simply change the subject, or what?

By good, I mean immensely dedicated to God.

Well you have to find a truly dedicated to God person first (they are far and in between), but then once you have found one I would say no that they would/should not critisize anothers beliefs.

As far as what should they do, I would do like Serapha said and turn the conversation into a friendship evangelism moment.

You have to remember that people like the JW tend to think what they know is the truth. If you are confident in what you believe as the truth I would just ask simple questions, keep them light, opening the door for future conversations that can go deeper.

But you had better be prepared because they know their positions very well.

Mr Tom · Jun 15, 2004

i think that i'd just speak to them in a friendly way, tell them that I'm a christian and maybe try and speak to them about it.

one thing i disagree with is JW's and many christian street preachers saying 'if you dont follow us then youre going to hell!' - because that is not the message that Jesus was promoting. Scaring someone into religion wont work - they will just move further away!

My friends had a street preacher the other day saying that Jews were going to hell - now things like that arent helpful for saving people! saying 'youre going to hell' isn't going to help someone to Christianity, its gonna make them say either 'i dont believe in hell so who cares' or 'your wierd!'

These things and people give Christianity a bad name. Similarly to many TV Evangelists

A GOOD Christian would not do this, they would love their neighbour not try make enemies by saying bad things about people!

TheMainException · Jun 21, 2004

Well, what I would do is ask them more about their faith and talk to them about mine and get a conversation going. Don't change the subject!!! God sent this person to you. And maybe even get their email or phone number and hook up again and talk to them some more after you have some Bible verses to back up what you talked about.

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